TORONTO — An independent review of the Toronto police force’s handling of missing-persons investigations is set to be released today.
The review, led by former judge Gloria Epstein, was ordered in the summer of 2018 after the arrest of serial killer Bruce McArthur but did not initially include his crimes in order to preserve his right to a fair trial.
Its scope was later expanded to include that case after McArthur pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of eight men with ties to Toronto’s gay village.
The case stirred significant concern in Toronto’s LGBTQ community regarding how police investigated missing-person reports.
Many voiced fears that investigations were affected by systemic bias and discrimination.
The independent review aimed to examine policies and procedures related to missing-persons cases, as well as how officers investigated the disappearances of residents who were later found to have been killed.